The wheel is a common symbol of the Buddha’s
teaching, of truth, and can be seen as a simple mandala. As it turns,
the centre remains still while everything else turns around it.

From the micro level of atoms and molecules,
to the macro level of planets and their orbits, circles and spheres
are found in every aspect of our experience, and seen used in the
symbology of many primitive and tribal cultures.

The Buddha taught that identifying one’s
self with any point on the wheel itself was to become tangled amongst
the beginnings and endings, births and deaths – rebirths – that always
lead to suffering. The centre is the place of observation without
observer, action without actor.

The practice of meditation is a journey,
questioning if there is such a ‘centre’ and if so, where might it
be?’

What might it be like to have ones mind
abide in this way, in the circles centre? What did the Buddha experience?

ANCIENT
& MODERN

There is something
in the nature of human beings that seeks to avoid chaos and yearns for
balance and symmetry. The monuments above, seperated by centuries and
from very different cultures, show clear similarities. The one on the
left is of Stonehenge, England. Its exact origin is ancient and uncertain
but is thought to have been built around 2800 BC with some ‘religious’
purpose. The drawing on the right is of a relatively modern Sri Lankan
stupa.